Valentines day
by vosa
Summary: Just a little piece about Ross and Rachel’s first Valentines day after the finale…… (some chapters rated R) Final chapter up!
1. Default Chapter

Hi, everyone, just a little piece about Ross and Rachel's first Valentines day after the finale……

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Ring.. Ring.. Ring…

A cheerful "Hey Sweetie" was answered by a rather lethargic and drawn out "Hi", "What's the matter," she asked, "Nothing just really tired, I'll be home in another hour and half" he answered back knowing full well what she had called him for. "Come on Ross, that the third day in row, what about dinner?" "I'm so sorry sweetie, but these "ass clowns" as you politely referred to them last night (this drew a slight chuckle from her) are leaving tomorrow and I'll be all your for the whole weekend." "I'll take your word for it, now tell me bout dinner" "Eating out" "All right then, bye, Love you, wake me if you want to when you get home", "Bye, Love you too". Rachel sighed as she put the phone down, third night in a row she will be having dinner alone, Emma was already down for the night.

Rachel prepared dinner for herself and situated herself on the couch, flipping the channels subconsciously, her mind was on her reincarnated love of 8 months, Ross had been working exceptionally hard and late for the past couple of weeks, some stupid Paleontology convention was being held in New York, and Ross had been very busy, she was glad it would be over tomorrow and they would at least be able to celebrate their first Valentine's Day together in years in peace. Things had been going fairly well between them, they still had their share absurd fights, but when she thought about it that's what made them work, without the absurd fights they wouldn't be Ross and Rachel and of course the make-up sex that followed. Thinking about which brought a smile to her face, it had been a while, with Ross working so hard they barely had time to talk let alone do other stuff.

They had talked about the past and buried it under their new life, well almost. Rachel still had a little empty feeling inside, she wanted to be married at the very least engaged to the only man she had ever loved back. They had been together for 8 months and the topic of marriage had not been touched, whenever she asked Monica about advice, she just told her its Ross, it'll happen sooner rather that later, but what bothered her the most was "Emily". He had proposed to her in a mere six weeks, and now they had been together for total of 20 months including their first year and he had not even mentioned the word marriage, Did he not think of her as marriage material, Was he finally sick of the concept of marriage, she knew these were childish thoughts but she couldn't help it.

Arrgh, she sighed out loudly and got up, she didn't want to have these somewhat depressing thoughts, she went in and checked up on Emma, who was sleeping soundly, looking like an angel, she thought. Looking at the clock she noticed the time, Ross wouldn't be home for another hour, she thought about possible ways to spend time, Call Monica—No, Pheebs—No, Crash on the couch with a glass of wine—Yes, she went back to reminiscing old times, her mind wandered back to the night they had stayed up all night , talked about what had gone wrong the first time, A particular part of Ross's confession had tugged at her heart strings, for first time she had truly realized what she had meant to him, her eyes got a little moist when she remembered what he had told her.

**Flashback**

_"Rach, I am not going to say anything that excuses what I did, I mean even if I though we were broken up, that in no way justifies me sleeping with someone three hours later. But I just want you to know I never wanted to hurt you." "Its just I had been dreaming of being with you since I was 15 and it was just unbelievable when it finally happened and I swore to myself that I would never let you go, I was living in a fantasy word, but only for me it was real, I mean how many people out there get to live out their one true fantasy, I guess I just wanted our relationship to be like a fairytale, you know, Live happily ever after." "In the end I tried too hard to hold you back, when I really should have been happy that you were finally going to achieve what you had set out to do when you left Barry at the Alter."_

**End Flashback**

That day both of them had talked, cried, and held each other and realized one thing that even thought the break-up had hurt them both very badly, it was a very important part of their past that had enabled them both to grow up and realize that they were truly meant for each other.

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Ross walked up to his home of 5 years, "the ugly naked guys apartment", it was almost midnight , he quietly opened the door so as not wake up the other occupants of his home, he noticed the half full glass of wine on the coffee table, he chuckled lightly, knowing he would find her asleep on the couch, it was one of the many cute little quirks of Rachel, all of which he loved very much, every time he was late, he would always find her crashing on the couch, he knelt down and kissed her forehead lightly, then her nose and down to her lips, she still did not stir, so he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom, laying her down, he tucked her in and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Entering back to the bedroom he went over to his sock drawer and once again checked up on the piece of jewelry that he had been holding on to since the birth of their daughter.

He had wanted to give her that ring so many times, but chickened out fearing she would say its too soon, he didn't want anything to jeopardize their relationship now, he wanted everything to be perfect and that was not the only issue, he had already told her about his Planetarium proposal so he had to come with something equally good if not better to surprise her. He let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding and closed the drawer, stripping down to his boxers he climbed into the bed, still pondering how to conjure up a proposal that would as extravagant as his earlier plan but still very personal. As if sensing his presence she cuddled up next to him placing an arm and a leg across him and nuzzled his neck. He placed a hand on the small of her back and hugged her close, He still liked to have his space while sleeping but he figured, cuddling up was a much better option that not having her in his arms at all. Letting go of all his thoughts he fell asleep excited about the coming weekend and Valentines Day.

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This is my first fanfic, constructive criticism is always welcome, will help me improve; let me know what you think….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer- Don't own anything except a very dodgy keyboard……

AN: Man, this writing bug kinda grows on you, well thanks for the reviews, inspired me to cut back on work and write more lol.. the boss sure wasn't happy, hope you like this chapter as well, there will probably be a couple more chapters in the fic, no promises on updates, but I will finish it- that's a promise. Ohh, This chapter is rated **R**(nothing too intense)

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He woke up from his deep slumber when he felt something tickling his nose, he moved her hair out of his face and noticed her lying with her back to him, next thing he noticed were the red number flashing on the digital clock on his night stand, it 6:30, hmm, barely 6 hours of sleep, but he felt surprisingly refreshed, he kissed the top of her head and whispered in her ear "Rach….. Rachel" she still did not budge, "must have had more than just half a glass of wine" he thought. Not wanting to disturb her sleep but not wanting to sleep anymore, he got up.

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She squinted her eyes, the sunrays were falling right on her, rubbing her eyes, still adjusting to the brightness, she threw a hand over to his side of the bed, she found nothing, letting out a soft groan she called out his name, which came out as nothing more than a whisper, slowly she pulled herself up and called out his name again, this time he answered "In the shower", "Do you have go today as well?" "No" he answered as he came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. "What are you doing showering so early?", "Early, its already 9 Rach". "Oh". Noticing his sneakers, next to the slightly damp T-shirt, she asked, "Did you go for a jog?", "Nah, went to the Gym", "Ahh the monthly trip to the gym" she teased him smiling. "Ha...Ha...Ha", he replied sarcastically, moving towards her "If it weren't for these babies (pointing to his biceps) you would still be sleeping on the couch." He replied smugly.

He sat down next to her placing an arm either side of her and kissed her softly on the lips after whispering, "Morning", she deepened the kissed and pulled him closer, his well defined naked torso pressed up to her! The scent of his cologne! She didn't want the kiss to end, but they both had to breath, nuzzling his neck, she mumbled "You know, you didn't need to go to the gym for your workout", punctuating the offer by nibbling on his ear. Hmmm, Ross let out a soft moan "as much as I'd love to, Emma's up and watching cartoons in the living room". Moving her hand down towards the knot of his towel "She's a good girl, she'll stay out there". Grabbing her hand, before it could move any further, he kissed her cheek "you know, I really don't think we can afford a child therapist for Emma right now", He kidded, "Spoil Sport" she replied back, He kissed her deeply once again, letting the kiss linger on for just enough, so he did not loose his cool, groaning in frustration as she pulled back, "You are gonna pay for this later", she remarked. Knowing full well they were both just playing with each other, that at 9 in the morning, the chances of a morning quickie were next to impossible.

Having freshened up, Rachel joined Ross for breakfast, "Ross, Mon, called yesterday, Pheebs and Mike are going over for lunch today, she wanted to know if we wanted to join em?"

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing, I didn't know if you were gonna be free today"

"Sure, sounds good, it's been almost a month since we went over anyway"

"All right, I'll call her and let her know we'll be there by 1."

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"Hey Mon, no still stuck in traffic, well, taking into account the traffic coupled with your brothers driving, we should be there by the lunch time tomorrow." Rachel looked over at Ross, who was shooting her a none too amused look, they had been stuck in traffic for almost an hour now and Emma hadn't helped with all her crying, she had finally fallen asleep about 15 minutes ago after asking about a million times "Are we there yet?", A comfortable silence had descended in the car, Ross and Rachel were discussing possible plans for Valentines Day, they still had not come to an agreement when they finally reached Monica's.

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"Hey, Thank god, you finally made it, Come on in" they were greeted at the door by Chandler.

"Where's Mon", Rachel asked looking around and not spotting her best friend.

"In the kitchen, though I must warn you she's been cranky all morning"

"I heard that", came Monica's reply, walking into the living room, "Hey guys, Hi, Emma."

"Sweetie, I was talking about Erica", Chandler replied, immediately mouthing a "No, I wasn't" towards Ross and Rachel.

They both stifled small chuckles as they greeted Monica.

Phoebe and Mike arrived minutes later, after greeting everyone, they all sat down for lunch and caught up with each other's lives, soon after desert, they had broken off into groups, the girls were playing with the kids, reminiscing the good old days of "Girly Chit-Chat".

Rachel was making funny faces at Jack, making him laugh, while changing him.

"I miss this"

"I know, just the girls hanging out again"

"Yeah, that too, but I meant having a toddler around, you know, Emma's just growing up so fast, before I know it, she'll be off to school, and- "

"Well you can have another one you know" Monica cut her off.

"Yeah have another kid; we aren't even close to getting married yet".

"So any progress on the proposal front?" enquired Phoebe, knowing how Rachel had been restless since the day before Christmas, when she had found the "Ring" while putting away Ross's laundry. She had been so excited that day, anticipating a Christmas Eve proposal or a New Years Eve one, she was surprised when neither happened and the last month had been Hell, not knowing if she should bring up the topic or wait for Ross to do it.

"Nah, he still hasn't mentioned anything and I haven't had the guts to bring it up, I check the drawer almost every other day to see if its still there and arrrghh, she groaned, I just don't know what to do anymore"

"Hey, you know, I could ask Chandler to ask Ross, you know fish around a little". Monica chipped in.

"I don't know, Mon, Chandler, He'll more than likely mess up" Rachel replied reluctantly.

"You got a better Idea"

"Not really"

"Then Chandler it is"

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Coming out of the twin's room, Monica called out Chandler and explained to him, what needed to be done, Chandler wasn't sure, but Monica had her ways of convincing him.

"What was that about?"

"Umm, nothing, she just wanted me pick up some diapers"

"Oh, Okay" Ross replied, taking a sip of his beer and tuning his attention back to the T.V.

Couple of minutes later

"So..., Chandler started, rather anxiously, how's it going with you and Rachel, should I start preparing my Best Man's speech?"

Ross eyed Chandler suspiciously, "Mon, told you to ask about this didn't she?"

"That Obvious, Huh"

"Yeah"

"So seriously man, are planning on proposing to her, like ever?"

"It's not that simple, you know, its Rachel, I've thought about doing it a dozen times, but butted out, afraid that she'll say its too soon, now I think, we're ready, but the thing is, she already knows about Planetarium thing, Chandler nodded, I want it to be special, something we'll look back at 20 years later and say" "WOW."

"Well then, what are you waiting for, Valentines Day is a couple of days away that would be special enough."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but haven't really planned anything out yet, we were still discussing the plans when we came here."

"Well, I say do it and get it over with, I mean you both are not getting any younger, it's about time you sealed the deal on Ross and Rachel."

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After knowing the details of Chandler's conversation with Ross, Monica filled Rachel and Phoebe in. Rachel was surprised and flattered at the same time, that he wanted their extraordinary story to be culminated with an extravagant proposal.

After a couple of minutes discussing premature wedding plans, something clicked with Monica.

"You know…"

As both the girls listened to her suggestion, they both became exited and agreed that it would be extravagant and certainly would be remembered for a long time.

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It was at 5, when they finally decided to head back to the city from Monica's, on the ride home, Rachel had told Ross, that she will take care of all the plans for Valentines Day, and that he need not worry about anything, Ross had a sneaking suspicion that the girls were up to something all day, especially after his conversation with Chandler, but decided to go with the flow.

After playing with Emma for a couple of hours, Ross, had her ready for bed, Rachel loved watching Ross and Emma interact, tasks she sometimes considered to be chores, he enjoyed them, playing with her, feeding her, giving her a bath, it physically hurt her whenever she about the fact that she had almost separated them, looking back she couldn't understand, what she was thinking at that time, she couldn't even imagine her life, Emma's life without Ross now.

Ross was cleaning out the dishes, when he felt her arms around his waist; she planted a few butterfly kisses between his shoulders blades, reaching up to his neck while he finished up with the dishes. Once he was done, he turned around and noticed her wearing his favorite "pink, almost see-through nightie", He placed his hands on her back and pulled her into a deep-passionate kiss, his hands traveled down from her back to over her ass, pulling her closer and pressing a very specific part of him into her stomach, the kiss grew from passionate to extremely intense as her hands too traveled down from his hair to cup his ass. He reached further down and lifted her knee high nightie, he was pleasantly surprised when he didn't find any other piece of clothing, "Going Commando again" he mumbled in her ear as he lifted her up and she wrapped both her legs around his waist and commanding him to move to the bedroom.

Once inside, they both lost all inhibitions and literally tore off each other's clothes, she quickly handed him a condom as he settled himself between her thighs, he kissed her belly button, moving up to her breasts, neck and then kissing her lips, as their tongues fought for the control of the kiss. He entered her, both of them moaned in unison as he picked up the pace, he prayed to hold on for a little longer always putting her before him, as soon as she did, he let go, collapsing on top of her.

A couple of minutes later, which seemed like a lifetime, feeling the soft kisses on her collar bone, she mumbled "Wow"

"I know", he replied as rolled off her and settled on his side of the bed , pulling her over to lay her head on his chest, he kissed are hair and whispered "I love you".

She looked up into his eyes, leaning in for a soft kiss after whispering back "I love you too"

As they both slipped into the deep peaceful slumber of the night, they both silently thanked God, that they finally had found their way back to each other.

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Leave a review, did you like it or not, any suggestions about the proposal…., I have it pretty much planned out but new ideas don't hurt….


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer – Got the keyboard fixed, so now really don't own anything worth mentioning...

AN- Love you all for the reviews, thanks for the suggestions, all I can think about right now is writing, the ideas keep popping up one after the other, here's another chapter…

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Rachel woke up to some strange noises coming from Emma's bedroom; she shoved Ross waking him up as well.

"What"

"Your daughter is up"

"She's just as much yours too, you know" he replied groggily

"I know, but is your turn tonight" she told him pulling the covers over herself and trying to drift off back to sleep.

He groaned as he got up from the bed, going over to Emma's room, he saw her lying in bed with her favorite "Barbie", her eyes were still open.

"Emma, what's the matter now?" his tone came out much harsher than he meant to.

"Sorry, Daddy, I forgot to tuck "Barbie" in, so she wasn't able to sleep". She said

innocently adding a "Did I wake you?" for good measure.

One look at her cute, innocent little face and his heart melted, he went over to her and sat down next to his little angel.

"Don't worry about it sweetie", he kissed her forehead as he asked "Is everything fine now?" she nodded, "All right then give daddy a goodnight kiss and go back to sleep"

Taking a sip of water, he went back to his room, it wasn't completely dark, the orange glow from the street light was illuminating the room. Normally this annoyed him a great deal, but for some reason today, he liked it, he watched her naked form sprawled across the bed; she had kicked the sheets away "again". He lay down next to her, admiring her well toned body, she was doing a great job growing old-not that they were getting old by any stretch of the imagination, his gaze reached up to her lips, they were parted, very slightly, he admired her crimson cheeks, her jaw line, how someone could be so beautiful, so perfect, he didn't know. Every single day, he thanked god for giving him this second chance yet he still, at least once a day thought how inadequate he was for her, she should be with someone with a lot more "Charisma", someone who was just as stunning as she was, he thought. What he didn't know was, He had all those qualities and more within him, He just needed to see himself through her eyes.

Having resisted the urge to kiss her for more than a couple of minutes, he gave in and planted a open mouthed, kiss on her, he was surprised when he felt her tongue fighting its way into his mouth. She had been awake all this time, but kept her eyes closed; awaiting the kiss she had sensed coming a mile away.

He lay back down on the mattress and pulled the comforters up as she cuddled up next to him. Hmm, Heaven, he thought, would "Heaven" if it existed, be any better than this, no- not really, he concluded as he drifted off back to sleep.

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"So what are the plans for today?" he asked cleaning up the mess after having breakfast.

"Mon and Pheebs are coming over and we are going shopping in the afternoon".

"Again? Didn't you just go last week?"

"That was for Phoebe, today it's for the twins".

"Okay, but try to control your spontaneous, impulsive urges". He mocked her, having had an argument last week when she turned up with a 1100 hundred dollar worth jacket which was a replica of one she had discarded, two weeks ago cause it made some part of her look fat in some way, he didn't even remember now.

"Yeah, whatever, she spoke under her breath, changing the topic quickly, so, what are you gonna do, with your time alone?"

"Have some papers to grade, probably finish them up".

"Exciting" she replied, heading towards the bedroom, not noticing the look he was throwing her.

"Spontaneity", it was one quality he loved about their relationship, except of course when it came to Rachel's shopping sprees. He loved the fact that they still made out while watching a boring movie in the theater or in the back of the cab when retuning from a date, every alternate Saturday night was their date night. A particular instance brought a smile to his face, It was the New Years party at Ralph Lauren, where after much begging and a couple more dinosaur knick-knacks, she had gotten her job back and recently had been promoted, the teasing had started in the cab ride from the apartment to Ralph Lauren headquarters where the party was taking place, she had worn a Black strapless number which stopped just above knees, her hair which she had cut short again were just about falling over her shoulders, he hadn't been able keep his eyes off of her from the moment she'd walked out of the bedroom clad in that dress.

She had noticed the look of longing and passion in his eyes too as soon as she stepped out, and their game had begun, in the cab she placed a very suggestive hand on his thigh, he knew he was in for a long night. The games had continued all through the night, bending over right in front of him to adjust something on her shoe, provocatively eating the cherry from her cocktail drink, even watching her eat that day was turning him on, what broke the camels back was the dance floor, she continuously rubbed herself very subtly against him, thought normally she wouldn't show it, but she too was hot as hell, they had gone way too far that day, next thing he remembered was they were going at it like a couple of teenagers in a cabin, neither of them knew or cared who it belonged to.

The ringing of his cell brought him back to reality

"Hey, what's up?"

"What are you doing today?"

"Nothing major, why?"

"Well I got a couple of tickets to the Knick's game tonight, interested in joining me". Chandler offered

"You bet! I'm there"

"All right then, see you tonight"

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The rest of the day was pretty mundane; Rachel had left at around 1 with Emma, who was to be dropped off at her grandparent's house later for a couple of days so they could spend their Valentines day, together, just them in their little Love nest. He hated spending time away from their little bundle of joy, but sometimes something's just needed to be done, and they needed this time alone, especially after the last couple of weeks during which they had barely seen each other.

After watching the Knick's get their asses whipped by the Spurs (no offence, but the Knick's suck) Ross and Chandler headed for the coffee house.

"Dude, don't you have to head home now, I mean it's almost 10:30"

"Come on, let's just hang out, talk, we never just sit and talk anymore"

"Chandler, that's all we do"

"I know, but it's not like the old days, I miss them, I miss Joey and all the stupid stuff he used to pull off".

"I know I do too, so how's it going with his new show "Deep Powder"?"

"Well he's sleeping with the producer, so I guess pretty good"

Soon they were lost in the chit-chat forgetting all about the time, what Ross didn't know was, it was all part of an elaborate plan, so he didn't get back home before the clock struck midnight. Part of the plan was to have Monica and Chandler staying over at Phoebe's, which wasn't such a big issue considering Mike was away at his parents. After some very weird conversation's and very lame jokes even by Chandler's standard they decided to head home 10 minutes before midnight.

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Ross opened the door to his apartment and wasn't surprised, he had suspected something all day, although, he hadn't quite been able to put his finger on it, he had a sneaking suspicion that she was up to something-something big. Picking up the two small boxes he had bought on a whim; he headed to where the note placed on the coffee table had pointed him to.

Riding up the elevator, he was contemplating what she had conjured up this time, she never ceased to amaze him, he should have known that when he let her be in charge of all the Valentines Day plans, the last time he had let her plan, it was his birthday, when they were together for the first time, After a night of dinner and dancing they had woken up in a bed and breakfast in Vermont and spent the whole weekend there for good measure. Ahh, to be young and irresponsible, he'd nearly gotten fired because he was supposed to be working that weekend, but he didn't care, he was with the woman he loved and that's all that mattered to him, just like right now, cause not too many people would be out on the roof at midnight in freezing February. Especially when no meteor showers had been predicted.

He opened the door to the rooftop as the clock struck midnight, Valentines Day had officially begun, it was dark, looking around he found nothing, he looked to the other side, he could barely make out the outline of what looked like a Gazebo/Glasshouse. Strange, must be seeing things, he thought, who would put a glasshouse up in the middle of winter, when there wasn't one here a month ago when Ben had come over and wanted to see the view from up top. His thoughts were cut short when a light was seemingly switched on from inside the mid sized, now confirmed Glass-House. His view of inside was blocked by what seemed like bushes, he moved towards the Glass-House intrigued.

He opened the glass door, and entered inside, if he hadn't known better he would have thought he was in "Paradise", the Glass-Walls were decorated with Lilies, right up to the roof , rose petals were covering every square inch of the floor and right there in the center –standing was his angel.

His eyes locked with hers for what seemed like an eternity, breaking the eye contact, his eyes wandered downwards, her neck, her chest, her stomach, her hands – they stopped noticing the familiar looking black velvet box, quickly gathering his thoughts, the hushed whispers at Monica's yesterday, her staying out all day, Chandler, insisting on staying put in the coffee house till midnight, it all made sense now, he noticed the remote in her other hand, as she gently pressed the play button and "The way you look tonight" started very softly from the invisible sound system. Looking up to the clear night sky, this was it, they had the stars, they had the flowers and the song was playing, he moved towards her with a sense of purpose.

Tears were brimming in her eyes; threatening to plummet any second as she realized that he now knew what all this was about, He now stood right in front of her; she could feel his warm breath on her forehead as they both locked gazes again. Tears were now falling freely from her eyes, but neither of them made a move to wipe them. She finally spoke up

"Ross…."

"Shhh…" He bent down on one knee, gently taking the black velvet box from her, he opened it and pulled out the ring, their eyes were still locked in a profound gaze.

Rachel, I wanted to.. wanted to, he choked up; his eyes were getting moist, after clearing his throat a couple of times; he continued

"I wanted to come up with something that would sweep you off your feet, but when I tried to, I couldn't find words to describe how much I love you and how badly I wanna spend the rest of my life waking up next to you." Silent tears were descending down his cheeks too, "So I'm gonna keep this short and sweet"

"Rachel Karen Green, I love you, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She wanted to shout out at the top of her lungs; so that every soul alive on god's green earth would hear her reply. But she had lost the ability to speak the moment his knee had hit the rose petals on the floor.

She just nodded and he placed ring on her finger. This was it, the story of On-Again-Off-Again of Ross and Rachel was sealed shut.

He stood up next to her wiping her tears away, she leaned in to kiss him, she kissed him with such ferocity and passion that the kiss shared outside the coffee house on that rain doused fateful night that had started it all, paled in comparison.

The kiss continued and continued some more followed by a few butterfly kisses planted on every accessible freckle of her face, having finally regained their composure, she spoke up resting her face on his shoulder while he was busy cherishing her neck.

"So, do you think our grandkids will say "WOW" when we tell them about this?"

He pulled away, locking his eyes with hers once again, He nodded "Positive".

After a few more minutes spent kissing, giggling and learning how she had arranged all of this on such short notice. He asked her again, pulling out two small boxes from his overcoat.

"So, you want Cran-Apple or Cran-Grape?"

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AN- So, I decided to have Rachel propose to Ross, well not exactly, but you know what I mean, I thought that it was appropriate since on the show (I don't know if any of you will agree) Ross was used more as security blanket for Rachel, every time she had feelings for him were when he was with someone else(Julie, Bonnie, Emily, Mona) giving the impression that she didn't really love him as much as he loved her(BTW- I don't agree with it), she was just scared of the fact that she may loose Ross forever to another woman and that's when the feelings started to show again. I would have loved to see the shoe on the other foot during the finale, Ross going off to someplace for a Dig or something and Rachel running after him to declare her love, that would have been a much better ending, sorry I tend to ramble on a bit, if you think this is bad, you should see some of my English essays, 18 pages front and back won't seem a lot then- I started again didn't I – Shutting up now..

Sorry, I'm back, drop a review please, love it, hate it, don't care about it, just one more chapter to go….


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AN- Well once again, a big thank you for all the reviews, writing has just gone up a few notches on the list of ways to kill time……. ;-)

Rated **R** (just to be safe)

Disclaimer- don't own anything

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Rachel moaned his name again begging him not to stop, the ambiance of the night had changed from needy to lust to passionate, right now it was fluctuating between love and passion, something was different tonight, maybe it was the new found level of their relationship or maybe it was the fact that they had finally reached the destination both of them knew nine years ago, they would you reach, only they didn't know the path which seemed like a bed of roses at first glance was full of thorns. Only they knew the trials and tribulations that they both had to endure to reach their destination, but now that they were there, they were both basking in the glory, living the moment –together, enjoying it –together.

They both reached their breaking point and let go, her followed by him, they lay there naked, he moved from his position atop her and laid down next to her both staring at the ceiling

"You know, he began, if we keep up with this, I have a felling the wedding night might turn out to be a bit of a disappointment" he said jokingly.

Propping herself on an elbow, she looked deep into his eyes, grinning mischievously

"Oh, don't you worry about it, if I have anything to do with it, tonight will be a disappointment compared to the wedding night" she added with a wink, leaning down to kiss him, simultaneously she moved herself on top if him. After the kiss which once again made his toes curl, she rested her head on his chest while he caressed her back.

"Ross"

"Yeah"

"When did you fall in love with me?"

He pondered on it for a couple of minutes, a little surprised at the question.

"I guess, almost 20-21 years ago, when I was 15" he answered back.

"No, that's not what I meant, I mean what made you fall in love with me, we hardly ever talked, and you didn't even know me?"

He took a couple of seconds again "What's bringing this on Rach?"

"Nothing, its just, you remember last week when I went to lunch with Mindy, he nodded, well we were there and all she could talk about was how Barry wouldn't let her buy a new convertible, I mean we were there to catch up on old times and we were having this stupid conversation", she paused for a moment before continuing, "sitting there listening to her, I realized that, that's how I used to be and I mean how could someone even like me, much less love me, and then I thought about you and how you loved me even when I was you know… she trailed off

"Well, I don't know, he said shrugging, I mean I kind of looked at you and you just took my breath away and that's true even now" he added gaining some extra points.

She smiled up at him, propping herself up and giving him a soft peck on the lips. She placed her elbows either side of him, fixating her gaze on his lower lip, she bent down and bit it softly, sucking on it for another few fleeting seconds.

"That's a crush, Ross, when you are attracted to a person by their looks, you can't fall in love with someone without knowing them, what if I were a serial killer huh, she asked him raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Catching the twisted look of confusion and slight pain on his face, thinking she was questioning his love for her, she added, "at least that's what I believe".

Perturbed by the conversation he himself thought about it, what was it that made him fall in love with her, besides the palpable, he thought about what she said _"you didn't even know me", _well she was wrong he did know her, he knew her very well.

"I guess there was one other thing, besides the obvious" he continued after almost five minutes of complete silence, she looked up at him intrigued motioning him to continue

"You friendship with Monica" He informed, drawing a look of confusion from her.

"How did my friendship with Monica make you fall in love with me?"

"Well, he started not sure how explain it to her, Monica was you know Fat, unpopular, she nodded, and you were the complete opposite of her, but you still were the best of friends and you weren't ashamed to be seen with her in school, at parties etc, I guess that was something that was different about you, you weren't like those other "High school girls" and also that made me think that maybe someday Ross Gellar would have a chance to go out with Rachel Green." He continued a moment later "and what do know, now I am engaged to her" he added with a wink.

Her eyes had started to tear up at some stage in the middle of his dialogue, she already knew that he had pined for her for almost twenty years, but had certain doubts about him falling in love with her at that young age, but the verbal vocalization of his thoughts had made all her doubts disappear, he truly had loved her since he was 15.

In the darkness of the night he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes, though he knew they were coming, she was a very emotional woman and cried a lot but he found it cute and also there was the fact that he was the one she ran to for comfort and he loved the felling of being her **Rock. **His intuition was confirmed when he felt a drop fall down on his chest. He shifted both of them up, leaning against the headboard, wiping her tears away he hugged her tight. She buried her face in his chest, loving the felling of being in his arms, it was something she always admired about him, they way he cradled her, so warmly, protectively, like you would a new born on a particularly chilly day. The peaceful silence was disturbed by the annoying ringing of the phone.

Ross looked over at Rachel and then the clock, 4:30 A.M., who would be calling at this hour; she finally leaned over and picked up the phone after the machine failed to answer it

"Hey, the familiar sound greeted, I am sorry to disturb you guys, but I couldn't sleep, I just needed to know what happened?"

"Well, nothing much, but yeah I am going to be Mrs. Ross Gellar the fourth very soon." Rachel informed here best friend smiling giddily at he fiancé.

"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD", Monica screamed out so loud that Rachel had to distance the phone a good foot away from her ear, "You are gonna be my sister, finally" you could tell there were tears forming in Monica's eyes by the way she spoke.

"Yes I am, Mon, finally" her eyes were moistening too.

"Sorry to wake you, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer"

"Well, we weren't exactly sleeping or planning on anytime soon" she said moving towards Ross rather seductively.

"Eww, I didn't need to picture that, now I really won't be able to sleep" "Well congratulation to both of you, I gotta go now" she told Rachel as she heard one of the twins wailing in the bedroom, assuming it was her enthusiastic screaming that woke them up. "I'll call you tomorrow, bye".

"Bye Mon" as she put the receiver down, she turned back to Ross who was pretending to be asleep, hmm, he wants to play, never one to back down from a challenge, she moved on top of him, kissing his belly button and moving in a straight line above as she reached his collar bone, she paused for a moment to look up at his eyes , they were still shut, but his lips had curled up into a knowing smile, she bent down and planted a kiss behind his ear, knowing how erogenous that spot was for him, as she rubbed herself over a very specific and very stiff part of him, she kissed him, her tongue begging for an entrance, as soon as she felt some action from his side though she stopped, as he knew she would, she was such a tease, rolling off of him, she laid down on her side of bed, grinning widely,

"I think, I'm gonna catch some sleep sweetie, I'm really tired" she told him stretching her arms over her head, enjoying the look full of love, lust and begging that was painted on his face, He leaned down and kissed her again, knowing she couldn't keep up her short lived defiance for too long and soon they were again in the midst of passionate lovemaking.

She cuddled up close to him, once it was over and whispered for the first time

"Happy Valentines Day"

"You too", he whispered back as they finally caught up on some much needed sleep.

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It was almost one in the afternoon when he finally woke up, he noticed she wasn't there, but the sound of the running water confirmed her presence in the shower, he contemplated for a moment if he should join her but decided to drop it, he put on his robe, and walked out of the bedroom, to the living room window, he noticed the old apartment, the new occupants a couple in their mid forties, were nice people, but it wasn't the same, over time they had gotten used to not seeing the familiar faces, but there were still times when he missed having his best friend and his sister right across the road, feeling nostalgic, he picked up the photo album lying on bottom step of the bookshelf.

There were 10 years of memories in his hands, the gangs first Christmas together, Ben's birth, his and Rachel's first weekend away after getting together, thinking about the ones that were in their private stash brought a smile to his face, as he rummaged through the pages, he came up to ones that were taken in the hospital, Emma was lying serenely in Rachel's arms, both of them were sleeping peacefully, he felt her arms encircle his neck from behind as rested her chin on his shoulder

"What are you doing" she asked looking down at the photo album herself not really expecting an answer. And he didn't give her one, he caught her arm and motioned her to join him on the couch, she sat down next to him, draping an arm across his back and resting her head on his shoulder.

"You both look so beautiful and peaceful" he told her pointing towards the picture he was staring at.

She kept her gaze locked on the photograph as she nodded. He had been meaning to talk to her about it and now seemed as good a time as any

"Rach, he began hesitantly, umm, you think we have more such pictures in our future?" he asked as subtly as possible.

"Maybe", she replied, smiling a little, she knew how much he wanted another kid; she still remembered the picture he had painted of them living in Scarsdale, it had freaked her out at that time, but now that she thought about how happy Monica and Chandler were living outside the chaos of the city, she wouldn't mind a house with a backyard where little version of her and Ross could play.

"But don't get any ideas before the wedding, I wanna wear a really nice dress" she added before continuing "and we definitely don't want another lecture from your mom about having a baby out of wedlock again do we?" he nodded

"No, I didn't mean right now, I just wanted to know where you stood, you know". She nodded back, leaning up give him a kiss, they both leaned back on the couch, enjoying each others company.

"So you have anything else up your sleeve for tonight?"

"Well, not really, I spent so much time planning everything for last night, I totally forgot about Valentines Day night" she told him, looking at him apologetically.

"Well, don't worry about it, I am sure we can conjure up something for tonight" He assured her, kissing her forehead sweetly.

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"I swear Ross, I haven't laughed that hard since Vegas" she remarked still smirking

They had spent the evening trying to make dinner, which had slowly but surely turned into disaster, it started when Ross had the idea of downloading the recipe, they decided on "Sweet and Sour Chicken with vegetables on a bed of white rice." They went out bought the supplies along with some wine, following the recipe was tricky and Ross had told Rachel to stay away remembering her trifle fiasco, halfway through it, he knew something was amiss, but continued, and in the end two and a half hours of labor was put to use "by the neighbors dog".

Ross was disappointed but Rachel couldn't help tease him about his recipe following skills, she was still mocking him as they finally decided to settle for pizza and wine as their profligate Valentines Day meal.

Rachel finally settled on the couch contemplating which movie to watch, the choices were "How to lose a guy in ten days" or "Alex and Emma" (sorry, these were the only ones I could remember), having settled on the first one, she relaxed on the couch, leaning against the arm, she felt something cold on her neck, she immediately turned around and noticed Ross standing behind her with a beautiful gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant studded with a diamond.

"May I?"

She nodded, lifting her golden brown curls and letting him adorn her with the stunning piece of jewelry.

He lay down next to her, pinning her between him and the back of the couch, she kept her gaze locked at him as he made himself comfortable before finally asking

"What's this for?" she asked gesturing towards the necklace.

"Well, the engagement was kind of your gift to me, even thought you get to keep the ring, and this, he said touching the pendant, I bought as your original Valentines Day gift".

"But you consider this as you birthday gift now, all right" he added grinning.

"Thank you" she replied sincerely "and we will see about the birthday when we get to it".

He was about to say something but she silenced him with a kiss.

"This always works" he said sighing out loudly as his hand moved up underneath her shirt caressing the soft skin of her back.

After another half an hour of kissing, cuddling and paying very little attention to the movie that was playing, she decided to bring up something that had been sticking like a thorn to her side for almost six years, she hadn't bought it up even when they had discussed the past, she didn't know why it bothered her, but it did

"Ross, she started rather apprehensively, can I ask you something?"

A little nervous about the sudden change in her demeanor he replied "Sure sweetie, anything".

"First promise me you won't get mad, and I know it's a little childish, but I just need to know".

"Okay, you are scaring me now, what is it?"

"First promise me" she demanded

"Okay, I promise" he replied rather reluctantly.

She began again, playing with her hair, typical Rachel reaction when she was extremely nervous.

"Why didn't you propose to me when we were… we were together for the first time?"

"What?" he almost yelled out, raising his eyebrows looking rather confused by the straight forwardness of her query.

"It's just… just that you proposed to Emily like six weeks after you met her, taking a deep breath she continued, we were together for a year and yeah we discussed the future, but never marriage, it just bothers me you know… she trailed of rather shyly, wondering if she did the right thing bringing it up tonight, when they were having such a wonderful day.

Looking in her eyes, he could sense her trepidation; he was still mystified, not because he didn't know the answer to her question, he felt this way because it was something that obviously bothered her and when one thought about it, it was a big deal, but he never even thought about it from her perspective. Of course, it was a big deal, she had loved him and they had been together for a year, without a mention of a proposal and then he had proposed to someone he had known for barely six weeks.

"Sweetie, he said looking into her eyes, it's not childish and I can see why it would bother you".

"So, why didn't you?"

"Well, it's not like I never thought about it, but I didn't think we were ready at that point in our lives, I mean you had just started finding yourself with you new job and everything, plus, remember how you freaked out when I mentioned "Scarsdale", she nodded rather sheepishly, and you had run out on Barry because of the fact you were getting married…. The signs weren't too encouraging" he added smiling trying to lighten the mood.

"I always thought we would end up together, but it just took a little longer that expected"

"Better late than Never" she added kissing him deeply.

"Oh by the way, he started with a mischievous grin on face, you are not planning on running out again are you?"

"You never know, she started trying to look serious, but if I were you, I wouldn't take any chances, Make sure you lock the bathroom window Gellar". She said as she got up, making sure to press herself against him.

Moving towards the bedroom, swaying her hips seductively, she stopped at the door, standing against the frame invitingly, she called out "You coming or what?"

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AN- Yay, I finished it. Have to admit it was fun writing a fanfic, got a few more ideas,cant say for sure but hopefully I'll see you soon in another one,read and review please….


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